Monitoring Student Progress in Reading
Teachers assess students’ skills and achievement in Arabic and English reading using classroom tasks and assignments designed by teachers. Curriculum documents along with explanatory notes define different levels of achievements in each outcome. The Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) also provides continuous assessment templates for teachers that specify some or all of the assessment techniques to be used. Students’ performance on these assessments is recorded using the electronic Student Assessment Record (StAR).13
While academic progress is supported by curriculum and pedagogy, the National Assessment Program provides an important platform to accrue data and subsequently measure system level improvement of the students within. The National Assessment Program includes two salient metrics: Performance Indicators in Primary Schools (PIPS) and the External Measurement of Student Achievement (EMSA). PIPS is an externally developed annual assessment administered to students from kindergarten to Grade 2, measuring performance in mathematics, English reading, Arabic reading, and phonological awareness. EMSA also is an externally developed annual assessment, administered to students in Grades 3 to 11 in all ADEC public schools in Arabic and English language (reading and writing) and mathematics, and in Grades 3 to 9 in science. A representative sample of private schools also is included in the study to assess the Arabic language performance of students in Grades 5, 7, 9, and 11. Achievement is described using raw scores, standardized scores, and proficiency level descriptors. Various data reports are subsequently generated to inform policy decision making at the system level and teaching and learning at the practitioner level.14